A-Infos (en) Dock gates open to strikers, says firm Melbourne - resent for technicality

[Ilan Shalif <gshalif@netvision.net.il>]

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     A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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From: "Samuel" <Samuel@falklands.org>
To: "Auyib  Ali" <au@cv-mochanet.com.kw>,

Tue, Feb 3, 1998

  The stevedoring company at the centre of Melbourne's waterfront
dispute
says the gates are open for its employees to return to work.
The chairman of Patrick Stevedoring, Chris Corrigan, says there is no
dispute at Webb Dock.
He says there is no lock-out of union members at Webb Dock and he is
not
taking away their jobs.
Before evading questions based on allegations Patrick was involved in
the
Dubai training exercise last year, Mr Corrigan confirmed letters were
being
hand-delivered to workers today requesting them to return to work
after a
six-day stoppage.
He says all Patrick is doing is leasing some surplus capacity and
equipment
at Webb Dock to Producers and Consumers Proprietry Limited so it can
establish its own general stevedoring business.
Producers and Consumers is owned by the National Farmers Federation
(NFF).
Union cautious
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says it will not yet instruct
its
members to return to work.
National organiser Mick O'Leary says he does not know what Patrick
Stevedoring is up to.
"We don't know whether this is a stunt or whether its a serious
attempt to
have us get to the table to negotiate a return to work," he said.
Opposition claims
The Victorian Opposition says it has obtained documents which it
claims show
the Victorian Government used taxpayers' money to help the NFF in the
waterfront dispute.
The Shadow Treasurer, Steve Bracks, says the Government partially
settled
litigation with the company the day security guards arrived at Webb
Dock.
An internal memo shows the agreement allowed the lease of part of the
dock
to a new tenant.
Mr Bracks says the cost of the settlement to taxpayers could have been
as
high as $100 million.
"Now we don't know what the settlement is," he said.
"But what we know is there's a secret deal on the very day that the
Webb
Dock issue blew up, that the Kennett Government signed off with
Patrick
Stevedoring, which allowed them to have this deal, this arrangement,
this
industrial disputation.
"The Kennett Government has been in it all along, and clearly these
documents show it," Mr Bracks said.
Shield concern
The Victorian Corrections Minister, Bill McGrath, says there may have
been a
breach of the Weapons Act when government riot shields were hired by a

private security firm for use on the waterfront.
Eighteen of the 20 shields used by an ex-prison officer for security
training at Webb Dock have since been returned to the Office of
Corrections.
The remaining two have been reported stolen.
Mr McGrath maintains the Government was grossly misled about their use
and
says procedures have since been tightened.
"The security guards may not be able to borrow or hire this type of
gear
from the Office of Corrections," he said.
"Certainly it may have been in contravention of the control of weapons
act,
but I'm not 100 per cent sure."

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